N is for New Jersey

N is for New Jersey

 

            I love New Jersey.  I was born and raised here.  I know it’s the brunt of a lot of jokes but in my mind it really is the best state.        

It’s right in the middle of the Northeast corridor and so it’s accessible to big cities like New York or Philadelphia, but there’s still a lot of farmland and open space.  At least in the area I live.  We’ve got the beaches and boardwalks in the summer (what’s left after Hurricane Sandy) and we usually  get just the right amount of snow in the winter for a little winter fun but not so much that we’re paralyzed by it.

            It’s only a 10 hour trip to Myrtle Beach, SC.  Florida is only a road trip away.  My mother drove us there every summer for a week of fun.

             And my claim to fame is I’m originally from Freehold , the home of the Boss, Bruce Springsteen.  He was a few years older than me so I never met him but I knew the woman who let him use her garage to practice in when he was a teen.  She went to my church. 

            My only complaint about NJ is while lilacs and forsythia herald Spring in other states, here you know it’s spring when the road work begins.  The sight of traffic cones and steam shovels tells you the warm weather has arrived.  At least we don’t have to pump our own gas.  And I like that!